Mario Kâto Wârudo

I know there's been a debate on which Mario Kart game is better, World or 8. Personally, I consider 8 the better game, but that's not to say World isn't good unto itself. I'll tell you why.

First off, while there's a large selection of vehicles to choose from, there is no vehicle customization like in 8, which I found to be a let-down. Instead, we get 50 characters to choose from, each with their own stats such as speed, acceleration, weight, and handling. Half of the racers, like Mario, Peach, Bowser, have different outfits that can unlock by finding and eating dash bags that you find in the middle of races. New racers include Nabbit from New Super Mario Bros. U, Goomba is finally here and can somehow drive without any hands, a cow from Moo Moo Meadows, and a Dolphin from Super Mario World. Your vehicles aren't limited to karts; you can race with boats too.

The levels are a mixed bag with roughly half being new and the other half from past titles. New courses with their own features, details and hazards, like oncoming traffic, streetlights, and fire hydrants on the bustling streets of Crown City, oncoming trains on the railway styled racetrack on Whistlestop Summit, and DK Spaceport gives us cannons and a giant robot Donkey Kong launching huge barrels ala the original Donkey Kong from 1981. The worlds are more open and have alternate, off-road routes you can take and get ahead of the other racers.

The races are bigger and even more intense than ever since they involve 24 players competing against each other, so you can expect hardcore racing. Plus, there's new vehicle maneuvers you can perform for speed boosts, like rail griding and wall driving, and the ability to perform multiple tricks in mid-air, making the races even more dynamic than before. For me, this was the most enticing part of the game.

The newest feature was the free roam gameplay. I loved the freedom of movement, which granted you the opportunity to explore and familiarize yourself with the tracks and collect dash bags more easily. The size and amount of detail was a nice touch too. There were Peach medallions and question mark pads to find and unlock stickers to customize your vehicles and characters with. The only downside was that the worlds tended to be deserted and a bit lacking in activities for the most part aside from the P-switch challenges. They could have added more events or NPCs to interact with, but then again, that might have made it too similar to Grand Theft Auto.

Like all previous Mario Kart games, the soundtrack is awesome and fast-paced. We've got DK Spaceport's jazzy tune with brass and bass guitar riffs, Crown City with lively combo of brass and electronic guitar and keyboard notes, and Starview Peak with bright triangle twinkling, violin strokes, and fast percussion. The songs from the previous games have been remixed and modernized, so they sound as great or even better than before.

This is ultimately a great new entry in the Mario Kart series and a nice start for the Switch 2's tenure. Although many gamers prefer 8 over this game, I guess you'll have to try it first and see which one tickles your fancy the most.

Mario Kart has had quite the journey over the years. Starting out as the multiplayer answer to the single player "F-Zero", but with Mario characters in 1992, all the way to boasting a huge and overwhelming (in a good way) 96 tracks in "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" with the booster course pack, the series has maintained its formula of being hectic, strategic, creative, and incredibly fun from beginning to now. Sure, the likes of "Super Mario Kart" and "Mario Kart: Super Circuit" have definitely aged pretty poorly nowadays, but they still count, and every single other Mario Kart game offers that addictive and creative gameplay that remains timeless. There's good reason you still hear people raving over older games like "Mario Kart 64", "Mario Kart: Double Dash!!", "Mario Kart DS", and "Mario Kart Wii" to this very day. The series, especially on 3D home consoles (and post GBA portable consoles) has cemented itself as a Nintendo staple, and it's been nothing but greatness since the start.

In fact, the last pivotal game before this one (MK8) was such a huge leap forward, that Nintendo basically milked it out for 11 whole years; mainly due to it deserving a better life outside of the doomed Wii U. That may sound bad on paper, but it actually worked perfectly, as MK8D, when you include the booster course pack, is the most content heavy Mario Kart ever made; and if you mix that with the already fixed Battle Mode that made MK8D already the definitive version, and what you have is basically the perfect Mario Kart. It did everything you'd want a Mario Kart to do, and it was bordering on impossible to really think of how they could top it.

Well, in many ways, they somehow did. "Mario Kart World" is an incredible leap forward for the series, as it takes everything we knew about how we play Mario Kart, and adds so much to it, that it's going to define a new generation of players. Sounds hyperbolic, sure, but the skill ceiling is MUCH higher, and MUCH more satisfying, as instead of driving and drifting, it's that, plus grind railing and wall driving, with a new mechanic where you drift while going forward to jump on high rails and the walls. It's actually insane how versatile the gameplay is now.

But it's even more than the gameplay that was revolutionized. Nintendo actually listened to those who wanted a "Crash Team Racing" or "Diddy Kong Racing" style connected world mode, as this game has that, and it is wonderful. It has so many things to find like Question Block Panels in each of the tracks, Peach Medallions, and...MISSION SWITCHES. "Mario Kart DS" lovers rejoice! Mission Mode is BACK! I've seen some people complain about how "empty" and "barren" it seems, but the game rewards you every twist and turn with things to find, as well as the new food items that may or may not unlock a new costume for your character. So, I say to those people, PLEASE just push through. I promise you're gonna like it more with time. It's amazing. Sure, there's no narrative or story like there was in CTR or DKR, but the world is huge, engaging, and very intelligently designed. This is the most liberating and immersive a Mario Kart has ever felt, as each track feels impactful in a way.

Speaking of this connected world, that's how each mode treats the races. Grand Prix, for example, will start as your typical 3 lap race, but in each race after that, you now have 2 intermission laps before 1 lap around the actual race track. What that means is that you drive from where you were the last race, and physically drive to the next races location. This is an insanely creative and exciting premise that gives the game a sense of realism and weight. And while the intermission laps may seem a bit meh due to them mostly being linear, they still work amazingly to give that sense of immersion and real world weight, so the lack of a traditional 3 lap race back to back doesn't hurt as much. Though, I do hope Nintendo adds an option for that soon, since, even though I absolutely love it, I've seen people upset at this being the only option.

Speaking of Grand Prix, the modes in this game are all awesome. Aside from the aforementioned great Grand Prix and Free Roam, this game's VS. Mode, Battle Mode, Time Trial, and the all new Knockout Tour are all wonderful. VS. Mode also uses the interconnected track idea, and will work between any 2 tracks, meaning no 2 races will ever feel the same, and it's incredible. Battle Mode, while a bit limited compared to what was in MK8D, is super fun and fine tuned (let's hope Nintendo adds to it, but even if they don't, it's still loads better than the original battle mode in MK8 on Wii U). Time Trial is the same challenging mode that lets you beat the record of each track, and it's awesome. And the new Knockout Tour? HO BOY. This mode is incredible. Basically a souped up Grand Prix with Battle Royale rules. It's unbelievably chaotic and heart pumping. This mode is another huge addition that fits perfectly in Mario Kart, and one that should be a mainstay from this point forward.

Speaking of which, the track design and selection? Fantastic. To mitigate any spoilers in case of anyone who hasn't played the game yet, I won't say what tracks are here, but they're all fun and use the new gameplay mechanics to really bring the absolute best out of each of the tracks. The new tracks do this wonderfully, and the retro tracks are built from the ground up with this new play style in mind. Nintendo really seemed to cover all of their bases here, and it shows. Sure, going from 96 tracks in MK8D (with the booster course pack) to 30 tracks (32 if you count the variants of Peach Stadium and Crown City) here seems like a big drop off, but because of how the game uses the aforementioned intermission laps in between, there's a lot of diversity and ambiguity here that wasn't even in MK8D. Plus, just think of the possibilities with DLC down the line for this game. This games support will only get better from here, and it's already pretty damn good.

All of this, and I'm just now about to cover the presentation. The visuals? Clean, colorful, detailed, and stylized. They're not QUITE as focused on realism like MK8 or MK8D were, but they make up for it tenfold with how well everything comes together with detail and variety; plus they still look about as realistic, and now with this huge world that's connected? It's amazing. The music? SOME OF THE BEST IN A NINTENDO GAME. Amazing remixes of many Mario Kart staples, as well as music from "Super Mario Bros", "Super Mario Bros 2 (USA)", "Super Mario Bros 3", "Super Mario World", "Yoshi's Island", "Yoshi's Story", "Donkey Kong Country", "Super Mario Land", "Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins", "Wario Land", "WarioWare", "Super Mario 64", "Super Mario Sunshine", "Super Mario Galaxy", "Super Mario 3D Land", "Super Mario 3D World", "Super Mario Odyssey", and maybe some more I forgot about. Yeah. Literally ALL of those games are represented here in amazing recomposed glory. For a Mario Kart of all games. Nintendo really did that for us. Also, please put this soundtrack on the Nintendo Music App, Nintendo. The world needs it.

Mix all of that with a huge and diverse roster of Mario staples AND some NPCs like Goombas, Cheep Cheeps, Piranha Plants, Spikes, among many others, what you have here is THE single biggest step the Mario Kart series has seen yet. It's such a huge and bold leap forward, that, as mentioned earlier, some people may not fully get it right away, and that's okay. The series has been a certain way for 33 years, so to have this be as different and crazy as it is makes it unsurprising that it rubs a few people the wrong way. But, if you are someone who wants to experience true open world bliss and a more rewarding skill set, this game is 100% worth the $80 (which is a lot, but, seeing how inflation has gotten, it's roughly the same as $60 was in 2017, so we may have to just get used to the $80 price tag, sadly). However, if you don't have a Switch 2 yet and want that and this game, get the bundle, as that gets you this game for basically $50, which, for what it is, is an absolute steal.

Overall, this game is incredible. It may not quite be for everyone just yet, but mark my words. In 5 or so years when this game inevitably gets updates and additions left and right, this will be the Mario Kart to end all Mario Karts. For now, MK8D has more content, but this game has much more depth, and as time goes on, this game will likely have even more to it. This is the biggest leap forward the series has ever seen, and I'm incredibly excited for what it means for the series going forward. It is my new favorite Mario Kart game, as it takes the already iconic series, and takes it to a whole new world.

This game is unbelievably fun. It is a masterpiece of a Mariokart. I have one gripe, that I can't turn off the vibration of the controller. Vibration hurts my wrists for some unknown reason so I was left with buying third party controllers that let me turn off the vibration through a third party application. Other than that, beautiful music, game, graphics, characters, and designs. Well done Nintendo, hopefully they fix this in the future though.

The game lost a feature that made Mario Kart 8 a great game like customization.

One of the few things I liked was having removed the gravity tracks, that was a positive point but on the other hand, the tracks not being a circuit with laps took away the real spirit of the franchise.

In the end, the game is fun but not worth the price and Mario Kart 8 is still better.

What Nintendo did is disrespectful to gamers. Nintendo is practically calling its audience fools. Paying $80 for a product that didn't surpass its successor. Regrettable. I just hope Nintendo fixes this embarrassment.

If you don't have Mario Kart 8, get it.

There are just too many flaws in this game for me to rate it any higher than a 6 (also taking the absurd price into consideration)

It has some great courses and power ups, but battle mode has NOT been done any justice (a joke compared to the previous games, with only 2 modes) and the whole open world thing has not been utilized properly. You can't free roam in local multiplayer (80 dollars, people) and there's no game mode where you can cycle through the actual tracks without breaks (only the intermission courses). The concept is really cool and could've been a big addition, but now it's just a medium-sized addition that leaves more desire.

They also removed some cart customization features, but that's not too big of a deal. Bowser and Goomba look a bit weird.

The music, graphics and UI are great. And again, some of the tracks are REALLY good. But just for reference: for the price of this game, you could buy GTA V and RDR2, and this game just isn't in that league. Plenty of missed opportunities. I'd take 8 deluxe over this any day.